Thursday, May 28, 2015

There are two kinds of chicken croquettes. They all have a
crispy, deep-fried exterior, but some are firm, meaty, and nugget-like, while
others are much softer and creamier. It was that second kind I was attempting
here, and I got so close.

To make a long story short, I used too much butter, and
milk, and while they did stay together enough to form the signature,
golden-brown crust, the inside was positively sauce-like.

I had no intention of turning this classic into some kind of
gimmicky attempt at a viral video, but as I ate them, I couldn’t help but think
of how much they tasted like deep-fried chicken gravy. Yes, I sometimes put a
little ham in my chicken gravy.

I’ve listed exactly what I used in the ingredient list below,
and also a second version, which theoretically would come out closer to actual chicken croquettes. I hope you get this, or that, a try soon. Enjoy!

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Whenever I can’t decide on what to do with a piece of fish,
I usually opt for this easy and crowd-pleasing technique, which involves roasting
seafood after it’s been slathered in a highly seasoned vinaigrette. And by
crowd, I mean wife.

The acidic bath seems to do something to the sea bass as it
roasts, and not only do you get a very flavorful exterior, but the inside it
seems to stay moister and more succulent, than if you just used a spice rub. In fact, Michele loves this roasting method so much, that I
decided to name it after her. Also, I couldn’t think of a name, and if I called
it Spanish-something sea bass, all the “that’s not Spanish-something sea bass”
people would be after me.

By the way, there are a few sustainable sources for Chilean
sea bass around, if you look hard enough, and do some research. Having said
that, I didn’t do any research. I got mine at Whole Foods, and I assume/hope they’ve
done their homework.

When it comes to ways of adapting this technique to your
particular tastes, the skies the limit. While we really love sherry vinegar
with the smoked paprika, I’ll sometimes switch it up with different
combinations; and the same goes for the veggies underneath. No matter what you use, Michele and I hope you give this
delicious sea bass recipe a try soon. Enjoy!

Monday, May 25, 2015

I always feel a little guilty grilling on Memorial Day. Being surrounded by all kinds of tasty food and cold beer seems inappropriate considering the holiday's solemn meaning. Maybe it would be better to honor our vets by eating what they had to survive on while defending our country.

What if instead of gnawing on a stack of sticky barbecued ribs, while sitting in a lawnchair, we dug a hole in the ground, and enjoyed something squeezed out of a pouch instead? There aren't many delicious things that come in squeezable pouches.

So, if the chicken get a little dry today, or whoever made the beans was just going through the motions, don't think of it as a disappointing meal; think of it as unintentional tribute all those brave souls who sacrificed for our freedoms. Enjoy!

Friday, May 22, 2015

I had a fantastic appetizer recently featuring lamb belly, radishes,
anchovies, and mint, which inspired today’s post. It sounded amazing, but I’d
only glanced at the description, so when it came, I was more than a little surprised
to see the radishes were fully cooked.

This was a new one for me, and I absolutely loved it. Like
most root vegetables, radishes don’t have a ton of flavor, but I found them
slightly sweet, earthy (duh), and aromatic. Plus, they seemed to have effectively absorbed
all the other flavors in the dish.

One thing led to another, and I adapted the approach to
create one of the more interesting and delicious things I’ve had in a while. I
called it a “flavor bomb” in the video, but “umami bomb” would be more
accurate. This was as savory, as savory gets.

Because of all the sweet flavors going on, I decided not to add
any sauteed onions or garlic, which is contrary to most braised meat recipes. It
probably wouldn’t have hurt anything, and I might try it next time, but to be
honest, this came out so perfectly balanced, that I’m a little scared to change
anything.

And no, you can't taste the anchovies. That doesn't mean you should tell anyone they're in there, but I did want to mention, in case you're scared. I would like to thank Aatxe for the inspiration, and I
really hope you give this strange, but exciting braised lamb dish and try soon.
Enjoy!

Makes 4 Portions:

4lamb shoulder chops
(10-12 ounces each)

1 tablespoon kosher salt (or about 2 tsp of table salt)

1 teaspoon blackpepper

1 teaspoon paprika

1/4 tsp cayenne

1 tbsp olive oil

1/3 cup sherry vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

4 oil-packed anchovy fillets

1 1/2 cups low-sodium or no sodium chicken broth (the anchovies
and spice rub on the lamb usually provide enough salt, plus you can add at the
end after sauce is reduced)

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 bunches breakfast radishes, trimmed

2 tsp minced fresh rosemary5 or 6 fresh mint leaves finely sliced

1 tbsp cold butter

- Braise at 275 F. for about 3 hour , or until meat is just
barely tender, then finish at 425 F. to brown. Serve with de-fatted and reduced
sauce.

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

I was visiting my mom last summer, and overheard her and my
aunt talking about making strawberry shortcake using “dad’s” recipe. They were
obviously talking about my grandfather, which was surprising, since I had no
idea he baked.

I remember he did a lot of cooking growing up, but it was things
like frittata, meat sauce, or polenta. I never once saw him bake anything sweet.
Nevertheless, he apparently gets credit for inventing our official family
recipe for strawberry shortcake, which I’ve adapted here.

What he had done was taken the strawberry shortcake recipe
off the box of a certain, very popular premade biscuit mix, and added extra
“everything,” as my mother put it. So, that’s what I did here, except instead
of using the stuff in the yellow box, I used self-rising flour, which I’m
pretty sure is basically the same thing.

The only other major change is the original recipe calls for
regular melted butter, but as you’ll see in the video, I like to toast mine
just a little, to bring out those subtle, nutty flavors. I'm hoping Armand Cianfoni
would approve. I really hope you give “our” strawberry shortcake a try soon.
Enjoy!

Makes 6 Large or 8 Normal Strawberry Shortcakes:

2 cups self rising flour ((You can make you own by sifting
together 2 cups of all-purpose flour with 1 tablespoon baking powder, and 1
teaspoon fine salt)

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup milk

4 tbsp butter, melted, and lightly toasted to a golden-brown

4 pints fresh strawberries

1/2 cup white sugar

*add 1 tbsp water, if strawberries aren’t perfectly ripe

3/4 cup cold heavy cream, whipped with a tablespoon of sugar
and a few drops of vanilla (watch demo here)

Monday, May 18, 2015

The idea of making actual hot dogs doesn’t really interest
me that much. Like French fries, and sushi, I believe hot dogs are best enjoyed
out­; preferably at a baseball game, with a cold beer. However, I didn’t say
anything about hotdog-inspired sausage hybrids.

This meaty mash-up came about thanks to some lamb kebab
experiments. The meat mixture is prepared in a similar fashion, and while the
seasonings are totally different, the firm texture of the kebab reminded me of
a hot dog’s “snap.”

I wondered what would happen if I did a skewer-less kebab
using the same ingredients that would typically go into a hotdog. What happened
was better than I could've expected. I ended up with a fresh, mostly beef
sausage, that tasted pretty much exactly like a hot dog.

Technically, this ended up being a lot closer to a
bratwurst, but I’m pretty sure hot dogs are a more popular search, so that’s what I went with. As always, be sure to season these “to
taste.” Just like when making meatballs, you can cook a small piece of the
mixture, and adjust from there.

Like I said in the video, if you’re looking for something a
little different for your Memorial Day cookout, I hope you give these hot dog
sausages a try. Enjoy!

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Every once in a while, I post a video solely based on
something I saw online, and these baked apple roses are the latest example. I
saw a photo of these somewhere on social media, and using that one image as my
only guide, I whipped up a batch, which was a tremendous disaster.

I assumed that I could figure these out just by looking at
the finished product, but that did not happen. I tried doing them free-form, and
they completely unraveled as they cooked. I wish I'd taken some photos, but
they basically look like they exploded.

So, I decided to find the source of the photo, and see how
these are actually supposed to be done, which led me to the blog, Italian Chips.
It’s written by a woman named Ana, who’s a Brazilian living in Italy, so I knew
I was in good hands.Thank you, Ana!

Other than a couple ingredients, I pretty much followed her technique exactly, except I didn’t use puff pastry.As I mentioned in the video, I used a new
dough I’ve been working on, which is much faster version of puff pastry, that
uses biscuit dough. Stay tuned for that, and in the meantime, really hope you
give these gorgeous looking, and very delicious apple roses a try soon. Enjoy!

Microwave Note: if you don't have a microwave, just sauté your apple slices in a little bit of butter over medium heat, for about half a minute per side, or until flexible, but not soft.

Muffin Pan Note: If you use a metal muffin pan instead of a ramekin, I would reduce the heat to 375F., and cook about 45, or until the pastry is well browned.

For 2 Apple Roses:

1 large red apple

2 pieces rectangular puff pastry, rolled less than 1/8-inch
thick, about 3” wide by 12 to 14” long

melted butter as needed

cinnamon sugar as needed (1/4 cup sugar with 1 tsp cinnamon)

powdered sugar, optional- Bake at 400F. for about 45 minutes, or until the pastry is well browned.- If using metal muffin pan: Bake at 375F. for about 45, or until the pastry is well browned.

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

For something that looks and tastes as impressive as this
beef rouladen, it’s actually one of the simplest stuffed meat recipes I know. Everything
happens right on the meat, and after a quick roll and tie, we simmer in the
gravy until tender. The beef and fixings flavor the sauce, the sauce flavors
the beef, and everybody wins.

Regarding the meat, one of the great things about this
technique, is that you can pretty much use any cheap cut of beef they have on
sale. I used some round steak, but rump, chuck, flap meat, and other similar
cuts will work.

Tell your butcher you’re making rouladen, and they will hook
you up with what you need. If they’ve never heard of rouladen, then you should
probably find another butcher. As I mentioned in the video, this can be scaled
up to any size group. Just use a bigger pot, and the recipe will work as shown.
I really hope you give this Rouladen recipe a try soon. Genießen!

Ingredients for 2 Beef Rouladen:

2 (about 1/4-inch thick) slices of cheap beef, about 6
ounces per slice. I used round, but rump, chuck, flap meat, and any other long
cooking cuts will work.

Monday, May 11, 2015

Friday, May 8, 2015

As I was making these rosemary shortbread cookies, I
couldn’t help but think of one of my many culinary pet peeves, which is when people
add some random ingredient to a recipe, just for the sake of making it
different. This is not one of those times.

While rosemary may seem like a strange addition at first
glance, it works so perfectly in these, that I’d argue they're actually better
than the original. There’s something so
interesting about how the subtle hit of resinous herb works with this sweet,
buttery cookie.

I should mention that the time given is just a guide. It depends
on the shape and thickness of your cookies, so be sure to start checking them
at around 40-45 minutes. You can pull them as soon as they turn golden, but
that depends on how mild a flavor you want.

The longer they bake, the darker they get, and the nuttier
the butter gets. Some prefer their shortbread cookies light and mild, while
others will let them go until they turn brown. If you haven’t made them before,
I’m afraid you’ll have to do some tests. I hope you give these amazing
shortbread cookies a try soon. Enjoy!

Extra Credit Project: Make these using a round cookie
cutter, and use them to make strawberry
ice cream sandwiches.

Ingredients for about 32 Rosemary Shortbread Cookies:

8 oz (1 cup) cool unsalted butter, cut into thin slices

1/2 cup white sugar

1/8 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp kosher salt or 1/2 tsp fine table salt

2 tbsp finely chopped rosemary (but do not mince, or it may
be too strong)

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

There was nothing wrong with this warm calamari salad,
except the most important thing. I’ve had “cast-iron calamari” before, which featured gorgeously seared, almost charred, pieces of squid.
While well caramelized, the calamari was still tender and moist, which means it
was only cooked for a few minutes, over what must have been dangerously high
heat.

I figured as long as I got my pan hot enough, I should be
fine. Wrong. Well, technically right, but wrong because I added way too much
into the pan at one time. I really needed to do a single order at a time, and
it probably would have been fine, but once that whole pound went in, the temp
dropped, and you saw the results.

I still enjoyed a flavorful, healthy lunch, but not the one
I’d dreamed about. The good news however, was that I ate the leftovers cold,
tossed with the same salad ingredients, and it was actually better. So, if you
are planning on doing the same recipe, as shown, I would suggest serving it
chilled instead. I hope you give this, or that, a try soon. Enjoy!

Monday, May 4, 2015

There’s no getting around the fact that these lamb and rice
stuffed grape leaves, aka “dolmas,” take some time and effort to put together,
but at least they’ll all be gone in just a few minutes. What I’m trying to say
is, maybe make a double batch.

If you order these at your favorite Mediterranean restaurant,
you’ve probably enjoyed the more common meatless version, but I really do love
the lamb in these. The technique works the same no matter what you use, but of
course, how much rice you use will affect how much liquid you need.

As far as the grape leaves go, I’ve only done these with the
ones in the jar, which work great for me. I’ve heard these are even better with
fresh grape leaves, but where the heck am I going to get my hands on those in
Northern California?

As I mentioned in the video, these are wonderful at any
temperature, which makes them a great option for parties. You can put them out
warm, knowing that they’ll be just as delicious when they are cold. I garnished
mine very simply with lemon and olive oil, but any cold yogurt sauce makes for
a beautiful dip. I really hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 32 Lamb & Rice Stuffed Grape
Leaves:

1/2 pound ground lamb

rounded 1/2 cup long grain rice

1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1 tablespoon currants

1 tablespoon pine nuts

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon dry oregano

2 tablespoons chopped mint1 large egg

1 jar (16-oz) grape leaves, drained and rinsed

To cook the “Dolmas:”

4 cups chicken broth (tip: use already hot to save time)

Juice of one lemon

drizzle of olive oil

- Simmer, covered, gently for about 45 minutes or until rice
is tender. I usually check at around 35 minutes, and play it by ear from there.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

It happens to the best of us. You did everything right, and yet somehow your gorgeous hollandaise sauce has separated. Your hungry, possibly hangry, brunch guests are sitting down, and you're in the kitchen panicking, since there's no time to start a new one from scratch. What do you do? What...do....you....do?First, take a deep breath, and by "deep breath" I mean a big sip of your Bloody Mary. Then, do what you see me do in this video. A hollandaise sauce is actually very easy to fix, and only takes a minute. Let's hope you never have to use it, but just in case, I hope you give this great technique a try.